Language Interpretation at the U.N.

On October 24, 1945, the United Nation Charter, supported by 51 nations, went into effect. Two years later the U.N. General Assembly adopted a U.S.-sponsored resolution declaring October 24th United Nations Day.  192 current member-states observed U.N. Day on October 24, 2008.  It would be impossible to support the U.N. mission without members’ ability to overcome language barriers.  The United Nations Interpretation Service provides interpretation from and into Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish for meetings held at the U.N. Headquarters and at other locations.  Interpretation is essential to the inter-governmental bodies for the proper conduct and smooth functioning of their deliberations.

There is an old joke among U.N. insiders:

-       How many people are actually working in the U.N.?

-       Oh, about a half.

Interpreters are definitely among those who work hard. The preferred mode of interpretation is simultaneous, which means the interpreter listens to the original message, reformulates it into target language, and delivers it to the target audience instantaneously.  Since a speaker doesn’t need to stop for interpretation, simultaneous mode saves a lot of time.  Many experts in the theory of interpreting argue that simultaneous mode allows more accurate interpretation, since interpreters do not need to memorize a lot of information, as they should do while interpreting consecutively.  On the other hand, a conference interpreter needs to develop an ability to speak and listen at the same time.  To appreciate the difficulty of this task, try to listen to TV news and repeat every word after an announcer for 3 minutes. Then try to do the same, but start 3-5 seconds later than a speaker and maintain this time lag.  Now imagine that you should not only keep up with the speaker, but also convert his message into a different language.

Conference interpreters do not have the luxury of hearing and understanding the entire message and logic of the original speech. In describing the complexities of his demanding, often stressful profession, UN Russian interpreter Pyotr Avaliani said, “Simultaneous interpretation is like driving a car that has a steering wheel but no brakes and no reverse.”*

A thorough understanding of the subject matter and flawless delivery are absolutely essential for conference interpreters.  Due to the extremely demanding nature of their performance, simultaneous interpreters usually work in pairs, alternating every 20-30 minutes.  It is proven that after 30 minutes even the best interpreters can lose speed and concentration.

Roderick Jones, a renowned conference interpreter and trainer, noted “the paradox of the interpreting process is that in order to be faithful to the speakers, the interpreter must betray them.”  Interpreting is not a mere word swapping, but converting ideas and meaning from one language into another in the linguistic and cultural context.  One of the most challenging tasks is to render idiomatic expressions that often don’t have equivalents in other languages.  For example, a Chinese saying “A monk under an umbrella” means an inconsiderate person.

U.N. interpreters shall have an excellent command of at least three U.N. languages. Interpreter’s native language, or the language he/she has the best command of, is called A-language.  The other two are B- and C-languages. To ensure the best delivery, conference interpreters usually interpret into their A-language. They have to be absolutely unbiased and never allow their personal opinions and beliefs to affect the quality of their work.

U.N. interpreters, as well as any professional interpreters, could be compared to ballet dancers or virtuosic musicians: their performance seems to be so smooth and effortless, but it takes tireless, never-ending training and fine-tuning to get to this level of mastery.  The difference is that interpreters are always improvisers; they don’t have a pre-written script to follow.  And, unlike artists, interpreters perform behind the scene and rarely receive standing ovations.

[*Elsa B. Endrst, Interpreters: inside the glass booth. UN Chronicle, Sept, 1991]